8/10

When he first emerged with his breakthrough debut LP 'What Do You Think About The Car?' back in 2017, the then teenage Declan McKenna was greeted as one of the more interesting names emerging on the indie-pop scene that year. His nuance and expressive ideas allowed him to truly stand out amongst his contemporaries, a vision and ambition that he managed to reinvent for his much-loved sophomore outing 'Zeros' three years later. And now he is back to his innovative ways once again with his third studio album 'What Happened To The Beach?', a record that looks to push his sound forward throughout.

Ever since his earliest beginnings, Declan McKenna has always had this chameleonic approach to his sound, creating and developing new ideas that always give him a unique edge, and this is exactly what he has been growing again on 'What Happened To The Beach?' Throughout this new outing, he feels revived and refreshed within his guise, adopting a broader and more diverse aesthetic that keeps the momentum moving forward and delivering some of his most fascinating work to date.

Declan McKenna has rarely been one to put a foot wrong throughout his career, but 'What Happened To The Beach?' shows that he is far from running low on dynamic aesthetics. Fresh, catchy and engaging from start to finish, he continues to shine across this loveable new offering.